Spending the Afternoon at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City

I went to the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City to see the new Rodin exhibit with Aaron and Jimmy. You already know Aaron, but Jimmy is a mutual friend from college. I had a fantastic time, especially in the 17th, 18th, and 19th century furniture exhibits, for reasons that will be no surprise to the regular readers of this blog.

[mainbodyad]After having lunch and browsing the paintings, sculptures, furniture, and historical artifacts, we headed over to Hall’s, where I augmented the fragrance collection, and then, later, we had dinner at the famous chicken restaurant, Stroud’s, which I wrote about a couple of years ago.

There are too many pictures from the museum to post, so here are just a handful. Seeing the exhibits just reaffirmed my belief that most of the money successful people earn should go back to society, in the tradition of Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett. It is the massive donations provided by thousands of successful families that allow non-profits to secure priceless artifacts, protect them, and leave a history of humanity to be studied and handed down to future generations. This is one of the reasons I love giving money away each year.

Nelson Atkins Museum of Art Kansas City view from the from steps ...

Columns at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in the main entrance foyer ...

Rodin The Sages Outside the Gates of Hell Sculpture

Thomas Pitts I Epergne Silver 1761 Folgers Coffee Silver Collection, a gift from the Procter & Gamble Corporation. I was absolutely in love with this piece. Had it been at auction, I would have bought it for my own home.

Thomas Moran Venice the Grand Canal with the Doge's Palace 1888 to 1889 Oil on Canvas - I loved this painting.

Aaron during lunch at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art

Aaron had a sandwich ...

I Had the Chicken Salad Fruit Salad at Nelson Atkson Museum of Art in Kansas City

The fountain in the food court was originally the bathtub of one of the Roman Emperors. It was brought over from Italy in 1935 to celebrate the museum's opening.

This Chinese sword, from the Warring States Period, is more than 2,400 years old. It was originally cast with a high-copper alloy for the spine and handle to give tensile strength, and a high-tin alloy for a sharp cutting edge. It was accented with turquoise, gold and a silk binding on the hilt that has long since disintegrated. It was considered a luxury item due to the ornamentation and precious metals. It was inscribed with the words, "On the auspicious renwu day, made for righteous use. Pure gold covers the spine. I myself have named it Little X." The axe on the right was used to cut off the heads of condemned prisoners.

Secretary with Inkwell Nelson Atkins Museum of Art Kansas City

The Thirsty Drover 1856 Oil on Canvas by Francis William Edmonds

Group of Funerary Figures China Tang Dynasty 618 to 906 AD Earthenware with Lead Fluxed Glazes

Kamadhenu, the wish-granting mother of all cows, was venerated throughout ancient India. Kamadhenu is one of the 14 precious items churned from the cosmic ocean of milk by Vishnu at the beginning of time. Kamadhenu is also associated with the gods Krishna and Shiva. In South India, tradition states that she took up residence in one of Shiva's temples there, where she still fulfills requests. A very unusual feature of this sculpture is that it is hollow, with an excavated channel running thorugh the four hollow udders. It appears that this cow was intended to literally offer Kamadhenu's purifying milk, suggeting a unique ritual use. - Official museum description of item.

Road in the Woods by Meindert Hobbema Dutch Painter Oil on Canvas 1670s. It is insane to me to think this painting is almost 350 years old.

Italian Woman at the Fountain 1869 by Adolphe William Bouguereau

Crouching Flora 1872 by Jean Baptiste Carpeaux

The Garden of Les Mathurins at Pontoise 1876 Oil on Canvas by Camille Pissarro

Monet Water Lilies

Madonna and the Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist 1510 to 1512 by Giuliano Bugiardini

Roman Sarcophagus 240 to 260 Common Era in Marble

It was an enjoyable day. I need to come back with my family members sometime this week.

It’s always odd to try and fit your life story into a few lines but here is the short version: My name is Joshua Kennon. I’m 36 years old. My husband, Aaron, and I met and fell in love as teenagers. Neither of us ever even dated anyone else – we knew we were going to spend the rest of our lives together. After graduating from high school, we moved from the Midwest to the East Coast where we studied classical music and a wide range of liberal arts.

Later, we returned to the Kansas City area to be near family. During this period, which spanned nearly thirteen years and lasted from our early twenties into our mid-thirties, we started several Internet companies and spent much of our time semi-retired, managing our own wealth thanks to the financial independence those businesses helped us achieve. I also wrote a lot during those years. In fact, the odds are good that you’ve directly or indirectly encountered me many times without realizing it. For nearly 17 years, I was the Investing for Beginners Expert at what was then known as About.com. I am the co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Investing, 3rd Edition.

These days, we spend our time running and growing the firm, as we plan on it being the institution through which we pass on our own family’s wealth to our future children and grandchildren. The experience, particularly meeting such incredible people, has been one of the most rewarding of our lives. It’s a rare thing to have a career that allows you to not only do what you love for a living, but to do it with people you admire, respect, and like. We feel like two of the most blessed guys in the world.

This personal blog is a place where I talk about some of the things that interest me – cooking, finance, entrepreneurship, politics, history, economics. I’m really proud of the community we’ve built, in no small part because the typical reader around here is exceptional. Please note that in preparation of the launch of the asset management business, and to better protect our family’s privacy, Aaron and I removed thousands of articles, posts, and comments from this blog, reducing it to a fraction of its former size. This means if you are looking for something that existed prior to us coming out of retirement, the odds are good it simply isn’t available anymore.

Important Information and Disclaimers

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION: This is a personal blog intended for academic, educational, and social engagement among members of a like-minded community. Nothing on this site is intended or should be construed as investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, or legal advice. You are solely responsible for your own financial decisions, agree that you will seek the advice of your own qualified professional advisors, agree that you, and you alone, are solely responsible for any financial consequences or losses as a result of your actions, and use of the site constitutes your agreement that you will not rely upon any information found on the site, including the comments. All text, images, and resources are provided on an “as is” basis with no guarantee of accuracy and with no obligation to update or correct information. For more information, read the terms and conditions. Copyright Joshua Kennon. All Rights Reserved.